


Fallen Stars in Old Jars

by hobbit_hedgehog



Series: Perseids and Quadrantids [1]
Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Alternate Universe - Fantasy, Alternate Universe - Historical, Alternate Universe - Supernatural Elements, Edo Period, Human Daichi, M/M, Wishing on stars, Youkai Suga
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-08-10
Updated: 2017-08-10
Packaged: 2018-12-13 17:59:13
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,413
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11765331
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/hobbit_hedgehog/pseuds/hobbit_hedgehog
Summary: It had been tradition for as long as any of the villagers could remember.  Each year, during the height of summer, the stars would fall from the sky.  On a clear night, one could stand on a hill and watch as the bright lights streaked across the heavens.  The younger children were excited that they were allowed to stay out late.  Sawamura Daichi was excited because the stars falling meant there was a chance of meeting him.





	Fallen Stars in Old Jars

**Author's Note:**

> Hey team! So about a week ago I found a really cool post on the tumblr blog crypticdatesuggestions. I sat on the post for about a week, and after resisting the urge to write something, I broke down and wrote it. I hope you all like it!
> 
> Thanks to allihearisradiogaga for the beta!
> 
> *Edit: Holy shit this is my 50th work on this site. Well, happy 50th!

It had been tradition for as long as any of the villagers could remember.  Each year around the beginning of the rice harvesting season and the celebration of the Tanabata Festival, during the height of summer, the stars would fall from the sky.  On a clear night, one could stand on a hill and watch as the bright lights streaked across the heavens.  While no one knew the exact time that the stars would begin to fall from the sky, but as soon as it began, the villagers would flock to the hills to watch the stars fall as a community.  The younger children were excited that they were allowed to stay out late.  Sawamura Daichi was excited because the stars falling meant there was a chance of meeting _him_.

There was a boy.  A boy of ethereal beauty who entranced Daichi.  He had long hair as pale and as carefree as the stars above.  Moles and freckles dotted his skin like the many constellations in the sky.  His eyes were as bright as the sun, his wide, friendly smile doubly so.  There was something magical about the boy, there was no way he could be anything but.  He was Daichi's best kept secret.

Daichi had met the boy years ago, when he was no older than the children now surrounding him.  He had been watching the falling stars when a spark of starlight, flashing close to the ground had caught his eye.  Daichi had watched as someone with silver hair slipped away from the crowd, creeping towards the nearby forest.  Daichi was instantly consumed with the need to _follow_ , to _catch,_ like a hawk after a rabbit.  Given that he was standing near the back of the crowd, Daichi had slipped away with ease.  Part of Daichi knew that he was being unnecessarily risky.  His parents and the other adults in the village often warned the younger generation away from entering the forest after sunset.  The youkai that resided there, they said in ominous tones, were unforgiving tricksters, especially towards children.  But in that moment, all thoughts of malicious youkai had been pushed from Daichi's mind.  He was entranced by the figure with the pale hair.  He had to catch up to them.

It was easy for Daichi to follow the figure.  Their silver hair was a beacon in the dark forest, but something else helped Daichi in his pursuit.  The being was cloaked in a gentle silver aura.  The light illuminated their path through the forest and Daichi found himself gaining on his target.  After a few minutes, but what could have been hours, the being slowed to a halt in the center of a clearing.  Daichi stepped into the clearing and looked around with the aid of the being's glow.  A single log had been placed on its side next to a softly bubbling stream.  The ground was suspiciously clear of leaves and other debris; this was obviously a meeting place.

"Are you done following me?" the being asked, their voice young and lilting.

"Are you done running from me?" Daichi asked in return.

The being turned to look at Daichi and laughed; it reminded Daichi of the tinkling of bells.  Now that the being was facing him, Daichi could see that they were a child, no older than Daichi.  He appeared to be a young boy, and was dressed in clothing that Daichi had only seen worn by the son of the local Daimyō.  The boy's starlight hair was long, far longer than Daichi was used to seeing on boys his own age.  It was tied back with a ribbon only a shade or two darker than the boy's own hair.  He had a fierce look in his eye as he scrutinized Daichi.

"Why are you following me?" the boy asked.  "Don't you know it isn't safe to be in the forest at night?"

Daichi shrugged.  "You ran from the village.  I thought that following you would lead me somewhere interesting.  Besides, if the forest is so dangerous, you shouldn't be in here alone."

The boy laughed again, his nose scrunching as he snorted in amusement.  Daichi felt a smile tug at his own lips.

"You have a fair point," the boy said.  "But alas, the opposite is true for me.  It's safer for me to stay away from the human village.  I can get by just fine on my own out here."

So he wasn't human.  Still, this fact did not stop Daichi from approaching the other boy.  "If it's safer for you to be in here, then why were you at the village watching the stars?" Daichi asked.

The other boy gave Daichi a knowing smile.  After giving the clearing a cursory glance, he beckoned Daichi closer.  Hesitant, Daichi moved towards the other boy until their shoulders were almost brushing.  "I was collecting something," the other boy whispered conspiratorially.

 "What were you collecting?" Daichi whispered back.

 The starlit boy held up a small, ornate porcelain jar.   The jar had a scene of a palace and the heavens on its surface, the rich blues depicting what Daichi could only imagine as some far-off paradise.  The boy grasped the top of the lid and whispered to Daichi, "I was collecting these."

A gasp tore its way from Daichi's throat.  Inside the jar was a blinding, white light.  Daichi turned his head away from the jar and in a moment the light was gone.  Daichi blinked the spots from his eyes and turned back to his companion.  "What was that?"

"Fallen stars," the boy replied, tucking the jar away into the folds of his robes.  "I'm taking them back to my mother.  She weaves silk from the wishes made on them."

"Who are you?" Daichi found himself whispering.  "What are you?  Where do you come from?"

The starlit boy just laughed, "You ask too many questions, Sawamura Daichi.  But to answer your first question, you may call me Suga."

"How did you know my name?  Is Suga your full name?"

"I collected your wish," Suga replied simply.  "You wished for some excitement in your life.  And Suga is as much of my name as you need to know."

"So Suga isn't your full name," Daichi stated.

"Correct."

Daichi frowned, "Since you spoke my wish out loud, does that mean it won't come true?"

Suga laughed again, and Daichi found himself wanting to hear it more.  "That is a fair question," Suga conceded.  "Tell you what.  If you meet me here again next year, I promise that I'll make your wish come true."

"Will you tell me your full name if I do?" Daichi asked.

"We shall see," Suga said before vanishing into thin air.

And so it became their tradition.  Each year, on the day that the stars fell from the sky, Daichi would catch a glimpse of silver out of the corner of his eye.  He would turn his head and standing at the edge of the crowd would be Suga, the starlit boy.  Daichi would follow him to their meeting place and they would spend the night swapping stories, Daichi telling Suga about life in the village, Suga telling Daichi about the wishes in his jar and the people who made them.  Each year, Daichi would ask for Suga's full name, and each year Suga would avoid answering Daichi's question by describing a new piece of clothing his mother had weaved from wishes.  Eventually, Daichi stopped asking.  And so they passed the years.

It was nearing the time of the falling stars again.  Months before, Daichi had turned eighteen.  His birthday was in winter, so there was no possibility of seeing Suga.  In years past, Daichi had tried to find his dearest and most secret friend on nights when the stars didn't fall, but Daichi knew it was futile.  But now that it was summer, Daichi could see him again.  As the day drew closer, Daichi found himself growing more and more anxious to see him.  Daichi had decided that this was the year he would learn Suga's full name.  It felt like it was time.

The night the stars fell, Daichi didn't bother to join the crowd.  As everyone else in the village flocked to the hills, Daichi headed to the forest.  After years of following the path, he no longer needed Suga's guidance.  He picked his way through the forest to the clearing, and sure enough, his friend was there, already waiting.

"Something told me that you would skip the crowds tonight," Suga called, picking at a loose thread on his black kimono.  "Lucky for me, there are many nights when stars fall and people wish on them."

Daichi crossed the clearing and sat down next to his friend.  Like Daichi, Suga had grown over the years.  His round face had become pointed, more elflike as he matured.  He and Daichi had been similar in height, though Daichi's last growth spurt had given him a sleight height advantage over the other.  His slender fingers drummed against the surface of the log as he surveyed Daichi.  His eyes still held the same bright, fierce light look that they always had, and his smile still swept Daichi off his feet every time he flashed it in his direction.

"You've grown this past year," Suga observed.  "You're broader in the shoulders than you were last time."

Daichi shrugged.  "Fieldwork, what can you do?"

The other smirked, "I'm not complaining.  It suits you."

The tips of Daichi's ears grew warm.  Another thing that had changed about his friend was how flirtatious he had grown over the years.  Daichi cleared his throat, "I have some questions for you."

Suga grinned that sly smile that Daichi had such fondness for, "Oh?  And what will you give me in return?"

"Something valuable."

That piqued Suga's interest.  "Ask away."

Daichi started off with an easy one, "What is the ribbon in your hair made of?"

"Really Sawamura?" Suga laughed.  "Ten years we've known each other and you don't know what the ribbon in my hair is made of?"  When Daichi didn't offer any other explanation, he sighed, "It's made from the wishes made on falling stars, like the rest of my clothing.  My mother is a very skilled weaver.  She made it for me when I was young because I wouldn't stop playing with my hair and it would get awfully tangled.  Your turn, something valuable."

"There's a newlywed couple that just moved to the village," Daichi told him.  "They wish for a child."

Suga's eyes widened.  "That is something valuable indeed," he murmured.  "Next question."

"Where do you go when you're not here?"

"To my mother's home among the clouds," Suga said.  "It's the best place to watch the sky."

"The Daimyō's youngest daughter wishes to know how she can convince her father to let her keep the litter of kittens they found in garden last week," Daichi offered.

"The mother too?" Suga pressed

"The mother too," Daichi confirmed.

Suga processed the information for a moment, his head tilting back and forth as he sighed, "I would hardly call that valuable, but I suppose it will have to do.  Next question."

"What's your name?" Daichi asked.  "Your full name?"

Suga tensed beside Daichi; Daichi hadn't asked that question in years.

"I'll give you something valuable beforehand," Daichi bargained.  "You can use that to judge if it's payment enough to answer my question."

Suga frowned, his brow furrowing as he weighed his options.  Daichi waited patiently, his hands in his lap.  After a few minutes, the other boy nodded, "Alright.  Something valuable."

Before he could back out of his own plan, Daichi leaned forward and pressed his lips to the other boy's.  Daichi felt Suga jolt in surprise before melting into the kiss.  Hesitant, Suga brought his hands up to Daichi's shoulders and rested them there, grounding himself in the moment.  Encouraged by the other's response, Daichi brought his hand up to cup Suga's cheek.  Though his eyes are closed, Daichi could feel a warmth beyond Suga's body heat.  Daichi pulled back, against the overwhelming urge to keep his lips pressed to Suga's.  Suga still had his eyes closed, his cheeks were tinged pink, and he had a bright silver glow around him.  With the absence of Daichi's lips finally registering, Suga's eyes fluttered open, the silver light fading away into nothingness.

"Something valuable?" Suga asked, his voice hoarse.

"My wish this year," Daichi explained.  "To kiss you, and to tell you that I love you."

Of all the things Daichi had been expecting, a fist to the shoulder was not one of them.  Daichi yelped and fell backwards off the log.  Suga's cheeks flushed from pink to crimson and he stammered, "You can't just say things like that, Daichi!"

"What?  It's the truth, Suga!" Daichi exclaimed.

Suga covered his face with his hands, the silver aura returning.  Daichi got back up on the log and waited for the answer to his question.  After a long while, Suga spoke.

"Sugawara Koushi.  My full name is Sugawara Koushi."

"Koushi," Daichi murmured, testing out the name he had longed to know for ten years.  Beside him, Suga shivered a bit.

"You're the first human to ever say it," Suga whispered.

"It suits you," Daichi remarked.

Suga punched Daichi's shoulder again, this time much softer.  "For that, you have to give me something else of value," Suga grumbled.

"Anything you want," Daichi agreed.

This time, Suga leaned forward to press his lips to Daichi's, throwing his arms around Daichi's neck in the process.  Daichi pulled Suga close, threading his fingers into Suga's hair.  The ribbon in Suga's hair slipped free, his hair fell like a curtain around his face.  Daichi pulled back long enough to tuck some of Suga's hair behind his ear before returning to the kiss.  The action sent Suga into a fit of giggles and the two broke apart.  Daichi slid one hand from the back of Suga's head to his cheek, his thumb caressing Suga's cheekbone.  With a contented sigh, Suga leaned into the touch.

"I love you, Koushi," Daichi said, his voice barely above a whisper.

"I love you too, Daichi," Suga replied.

When they parted ways that night, they did so with the promise to see each other sooner than next year.  As he walked back towards the village he gazed up at the stars, and around his wrist was a silver ribbon made from the wishes people made on them.

**Author's Note:**

> "Date a boy who collects fallen stars in old jars, who ties his hair up with silver thread spun by gentle hands, woven carefully with wishes throughout." -crypticdatesuggestions, August 2, 2017.
> 
> [Link](https://crypticdatesuggestions.tumblr.com/post/163731827611/date-a-boy-who-collects-fallen-stars-in-old-jars)
> 
> Come say hi on [tumblr](http://humandisasterbuckybarnes.tumblr.com)


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